Rugby union: Tigers' main man in waiting

ASK TIM STIMPSON to reflect on his well documented tribulations during England's shambling summer sojourn south of the equator and he will tell you that apart from his running, his tackling and his general fitness, he felt fairly positive about things.

If that sounds just a touch disconcerting - rather like Michael Schumacher professing satisfaction with everything except his steering - you have to admire the man's attitude. If there is such a thing as a serial optimist, Leicester's new full-back fits the psychological profile.

Few were more surprised than Stimpson himself when Clive Woodward booked him a seat on the team flight back in May. He had scarcely played all season, thanks to contractual and tactical differences with Rob Andrew at Newcastle, but while some of his more reputation-conscious peers would have taken one quick look at Jonah Lomu and Christian Cullen looming on the horizon and sold the national coach a Phil Bennett-style sidestep, the big Liverpudlian decided he could handle the heat.

The Wallabies immediately disabused him of that particular notion on a blistering night in Brisbane and by the time he found himself on the wrong side of 15 hulking great Maoris in Rotorua, Stimpson would have been forgiven for doing a Lucan. "That Maori game was a low point," he admitted at Welford Road on Saturday after the 35-25 victory over Northampton. "You think you can keep yourself tuned in simply by training, but that little theory was exposed as a myth during the tour. It soon became obvious that I'd underestimated the challenge and like everyone else, I found the repeated hammerings a depressing business. But at least I was out there playing. That was the main thing."

Eleven weeks down the road - the M1 in this case - Stimpson is beginning to look like the Main Man. Always a rich talent, albeit an unrefined and unreliable one, he broke the back of an intriguing derby with two thunderclap interventions midway through the opening half and in so doing displayed pace and strength on a Jonah-esque scale. "Impressive, very impressive," conceded Ian McGeechan, the Northampton coach. "When Tim is on his game, he takes some stopping."

Martin Hynes, an uncompromising sort by deed as well as reputation, discovered that much at the end of the first quarter when he caught the rampaging Stimpson with what the Australians like to call a coathanger hit; that is to say, a high stiff-armer designed to rearrange a few facial creases. The recipient barely blinked as he continued his high-octane charge into the Northampton 22 and offloaded a perfect pass to send Austin Healey hurtling Rory Underwood-style into the left corner.

Two minutes later, Stimpson again found himself in lonely possession deep in Tiger territory. This time he went the whole hog, leaving David Dantiacq in his slipstream before stepping past Nick Beal off his left foot and finishing behind the posts. It was utterly convincing and, in the context of the match, every bit as decisive; Leicester were suddenly 19 points clear, their unbeaten Premiership record safe for another week.

It will take some performance to relieve them of it. As McGeechan agreed after seeing his side give best to their nearest and dearest for the first time since December 1996, these Tigers know precisely what they are about. "Their backs have started to give the pack exactly they need; when you have a 10 and 12 like Joel Stransky and Pat Howard, a creative centre for whom I've always had a lot of time, you know the right things will be done with the ball you win," said the learned Scot, who knows a decent outfit when he spots one on the other side of halfway. "And of course, they're also beginning to threaten out wide."

Not only through Stimpson, either. The electric Nnamdi Ezulike, born in Nigeria but channelled towards Leicester's left-wing berth by the specialist coaches at Loughborough University, had the 13,000-plus crowd on its feet as he took fully 10 metres out of a red-faced Craig Moir, finally bringing his opposite number to earth six metres short of what might well have been a game-turning try. As Ezulike had already put himself on the scoresheet, not even Dean Richards could resist a smile. "He's quick, yes, but he takes the hits and high balls too. How many did you see him spill today? Exactly. He didn't miss a thing."

Sadly for Northampton, one or two key performers went missing for far too long. Tim Rodber, their captain, played so wide on occasion that his magnificent flankers, Budge Pountney and Grant Seely, would have struggled to locate him with a telescope, let alone a pass. Paul Grayson also disappeared, firstly into the sin-bin after aiming a torrent of backchat at the referee, Graham Hughes, and then into the dressing room. None too impressed with his stand-off's conversational approach, McGeechan substituted him before he could return to the fray.

At least Grayson's right boot was in the groove; six arrow-straight penalties in as many attempts, some of them from distinctly unpromising positions, maintained Northampton's interest in proceedings and those statistics will tickle Woodward's fancy as he contemplates the shape of his squad for November's World Cup qualifiers. England may not need a super-accurate kicking display to see off the likes of the Netherlands but with grudge matches against Australia and South Africa also on the autumn agenda, 18 points from a possible 18 has a reassuring ring to it.

Leicester: Tries Ezulike, Healey, Stimpson, Back; Conversions Stransky 3; Penalties Stransky 3. Northampton: Try Pountney; Conversion Hepher; Penalties Grayson 6.

Leicester: T Stimpson; L Lloyd (C Joiner, 78), S Potter, P Howard, N Ezulike; J Stransky, A Healey (J Hamilton, 43); G Rowntree (D Jelley, 7), R Cockerill, D Garforth, M Johnson (capt), F Van Heerden, P Gustard, M Corry, N Back (L Moody, 78).

Northampton: N Beal; C Moir, D Dantiacq, A Northey (M Allen, 52), H Thorneycroft; P Grayson (A Hepher, 72), J Bramhall; G Pagel, C Johnson, M Hynes (M Volland, 64), J Chandler (D Mackinnon, 54), R Metcalfe, G Seely (J Phillips, 78), T Rodber (capt), A Pountney.

Referee: G Hughes (Manchester).